Looking Beyond Diversity: Understanding Systemic Discrimination Against Women In The Workplace

Uncovering hiring bias, unequal pay, and “motherhood penalties”

Women are under-represented in corporate settings and encounter various types of barriers worldwide. This includes discrimination, sexual harassment, microaggressions, and tokenism as they climb the career ladder. A survey by the Future Skills Center reveals that gender-based discrimination is reported by one in four women in the workplace (26%) and about one-half as many men (12%) ^[1]. 

Undoubtedly, confronting systemic discrimination requires a deliberate, long-term rethinking of how businesses attract, assess, support, and promote women. This article offers an outlook on systemic discrimination in the workplace, its role in hindering the advancement of women’s careers, and how to address it.

What Is Systemic Discrimination and How Does It Affect Women?

The Law Society of Alberta defines systemic discrimination as policies, procedures and practices within systems and institutions that result in disproportionate opportunities or disadvantages for people with a common set of characteristics such as age, culture, disability, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, and/or socio-economic status ^[2].

Systemic discrimination against women is sometimes subtle and invisible; it is rooted in a company’s culture rather than in open policies. It includes biases, assumptions, and unspoken norms that restrain certain groups — especially women — from progressing in their careers. Below are some ways this shows up:

1. Hiring Bias and Stereotype

Some hiring practices can unintentionally result in women being screened out before they have had an opportunity to prove their abilities and credentials. This can be caused by unconscious biases, gender stereotypes, gender-biased job descriptions and non-diverse interview panels. 

2. Leadership Potentials Measured Unequally

Women may be assessed stricter than men in the absence of objective measures for assessment. Especially in subjective areas like “cultural fit” or “leadership potential”. According to Dr Wendy Cukier, only about 20% of corporate board seats are held by women ^[3]. This inequality reflects the structural glass ceiling that limits career mobility for women in the workplace.

3. Unequal Pay for Equal Work 

Issues around pay equity have created a lot of controversies and discussions in recent times as women generally are routinely paid less than their male counterparts for comparable work. According to Forbes, Women earn an average of 16% less than men ^[4]. This pay inequality emphasizes the urgent need for systemic reforms that guarantee equal pay for equal work.

4. Unequal Access to Opportunities

A workplace culture can prevent women from networking, mentoring, and participating in high-profile projects. “Motherhood penalties” brought on by a lack of flexible scheduling, parental leave, or return-to-work programs could also result in lower wages and restricted professional advancement. Studies have found the earnings of American and British mothers to be about 20% below those of their childless counterparts ^[5], and the pay margin widens based on the number of children. 

What Canada’s Human Rights Laws Demand and How Employers Can Comply

Canada has a strong legal framework to prevent workplace discrimination. Human rights and employment equity laws, both at the federal and provincial levels, prohibit discrimination based on protected grounds, including gender. The Ontario Human Rights Act holds organizations liable for acts of both direct and indirect discrimination against employees. However, legislative guidelines alone are not enough; employers must take proactive measures to ensure compliance and adopt a structural approach to equity. 

Below are some ways to address systemic discrimination against women in the workplace.

1. Equity Audits to Diagnose Gaps

These audits evaluate how women are represented and treated at all levels of the organization, from hiring to promotion and pay, to identify disparities. The Canadian Human Rights Commission conducts three main types of audits:
 

• Employer-specific audits: Focus on a designated group within a specific sector.
• Issue-based or horizontal audits: Examine equity issues across a sector.
• Requirement-based audits: Narrow reviews targeting specific compliance areas.

By actively engaging in relevant audits and implementing their recommendations, organizations can do a root cause analysis to detect and solve DEI issues against women in the workplace.

2. Training that Goes Beyond Basics

Continuous research-based education and training focused not only on behavioral shifts but also on decision-making and structural change equips both staff and leadership with the right mindset to recognize and address unconscious bias—moving beyond surface-level awareness to meaningful, lasting actions to foster a more inclusive workplace.

3. Hiring with Inclusion in Mind

An essential step in increasing representation is the company’s recruitment strategy. Recruitment strategies must prioritize diversity, inclusion and representation. This would mean using blind resume reviews, having a structured interview process, diversifying hiring panels, and crafting job ads that reflect inclusive values to eliminate the structural obstacles that have traditionally excluded women and other marginalized groups.

4. Creating Safe Spaces to Report Discrimination

Many women don’t feel safe to speak up when they experience discrimination for fear of retaliation and disbelief. An article in Forbes revealed that only one-fifth of women who experience gender-based discrimination at work report it ^[6]. This silence is largely due to a lack of trust in the system, and to change this pattern, organizations must create psychologically safe spaces by assuring that complaints will be handled seriously and without fear of retaliation.

5. Evaluation of Anti-Discrimination Policies & Practices

Having strong anti-discrimination and harassment policies is essential, but it is only a starting point. It is equally important to conduct a regular review of progress on the equity goals and evaluate existing data to reveal patterns of bias, such as under-representation of women and other vulnerable groups in leadership or consistent pay differences. Carrying out continuous evaluation ensures that policies are not just figurative but are actively promoting measurable change within the organization.

Equity Is Not a Project, It’s a Practice

Confronting systemic discrimination against women in the workplace requires strong, deliberate, and sustained action. When employers move away from reactive measures towards proactive systems that eliminate bias, empower under-represented voices, and uphold an inclusive path to leadership, they build stronger and more innovative organizations. Building a Diverse, Equitable and Inclusive organization should be an ongoing practice, not a one-time project.

Footnotes
^[1] Future Skills Center. (2024). Gender, Diverstiy and Discrimination in the Workplace. 
^[2] Law Society of Alberta. (2025). Law Society of Alberta Benchers Approve Acknowledgment of Systemic Discrimination. 
^[3] Government of Canada. (2022). Women and the workplace – How employers can advance equality and diversity – Report from the Symposium on Women and the Workplace. 
^[4] Forbes. (2024). Top Gender Pay Gap Statistics. 
^[5] Xuelin Zhang. Earnings of women with and without children. Statistics Canada. 
^[6] Forbes Women. (2024). Only one fifth of women who experience gender-based discrimination at work report it- that’s a problem.  

Suggested Reads

1. Workplace Harassment Prevention: From Legal Risk To Cultural Change
2. Harassment Isn’t History: Why It Still Thrives In Modern Workplaces
3. The New Face Of Harassment In Remote Work
 

Yemisi Peters, Recruitment Specialist at McMan, Edmonton & North Region, is a seasoned HR professional with over a decade of global experience across Canada, the U.S., and Nigeria. She specializes in talent management, workforce strategy, and inclusive recruitment. As a certified member of CPHR Alberta (Canada), SHRM-SCP (USA), and CIPM (Nigeria), she often shares thought leadership on talent acquisition and inclusive workplace practices.